Michael Keaton recently did an interview about his feelings on the legacy of Batman and reactions towards Batgirl’s cancelled film.
‘Batman’s Legacy for Hollywood
In an interview with GQ, Keaton went in lengths about his entire career. When asked about the legacy of Tim Burton’s 1989 classic Batman, Keaton believed the film was a true harbinger of today’s comic book superhero movie success.
“Tim deserves enormous credit. He changed everything. I can’t necessarily say this, but there’s a strong possibility there is no Marvel Universe, there is no DC Universe, without Tim Burton. He was doubted and questioned.”
He is also grateful for Burton taking a huge risk on casting him in the titular role. Prior to Batman, people saw Keaton as primarily a comedic actor. His only other non-comedy role before that was Clean and Sober- a film where Keaton’s character was dealing with substance abuse.
“[Tim Burton] hasn’t gotten himself enough credit for going, ‘Yeah—that guy,’ And everybody went, ‘Wait, Michael? You worked with him on Beetlejuice, right?’ But I think what happened was Tim saw Clean and Sober- I get the credit. I don’t know that he got enough credit for making that move. That was a bold move.”
On ‘Batgirl’s Cancellation
When talking about the cancellation of the Batgirl film, Keaton was a little more carefree with his reaction. The movie was supposed to star Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon. However, it was also suppose to feature Michael Keaton in a minor role as the Dark Knight. Ultimately, when Warner Bros was bought out by Discovery, the completed movie was scrapped in favor of a tax write-off.
However, Keaton did not seem super heart-broken over the film’s demise. He said it was a paycheck for him and he even gestured with rubbing his fingers together indicating “money”. However, he did fell bad for Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah and the work they put into making the movie.
“No, I didn’t care one way or another. Big, fun, nice check… “I like those [El Arbi and Falla]. They’re nice guys. I pull for them. I want them to succeed, and I think they felt very badly, and that made me feel bad. Me? I’m good… I’m nothing but only respectful and grateful, 100%. And proud of it actually, because I like to prove everybody wrong. It’s fun for me.”
You can catch Michael Keaton reprising his other iconic role in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in theaters on September 6th.
Source: GQ.com
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